208269 Flt.Sgt. Charles Withers McLeod Burns Royal Canadian Air Force 229 Squadron from:Lancaster, New Brunswick, Canada (d.31st Dec 1941) Charlie Burns was lost and his aircraft was never found. I believe he was the tail end aircraft of his formation. His formation mates stated that they had seen a Messerschmidt 109 in the area but they never saw Charlie being shot down, nor did they hear a call from him so he may have fallen victim to a single pass from this fighter. It is all conjecture. Perhaps he was over the sea or his aircraft was lost in the desert. Charlie's instructor stated that he was very respectful under criticism and as he admired his courage he recommended him for fighters.
Charlie had been born in the Canadian Maritimes. His mother, Lou Withers, was from Granville Centre, Nova Scotia, and his father, Sidney Burns was from the Truro area of Nova Scotia. Charlie had spent some time as a child living in Regina, Saskatchewan before returning to the Maritimes with his family. He was married, and after his death his widow, who was living in New Brunswick, also passed away. He has no descendants. He has one surviving sister, Margaret, who served in the RCAF in England, and two cousins, Neil and Robert Wade, who served overseas in the Royal Canadian Signal Corps and the Royal Canadian Artillery respectively.
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